Space
travel,
it
must
be
said,
does
not
seem
glamorous.
You
have
to
pee
your
pants
and
eat
reconstituted
roast
beef
for
dinner.
But
future
space
flights
might
get
a
little
fancier
when
the
next
moon-bound
astronauts
put
on
Axiom
Space’s
new
spacesuit,
designed
in
partnership
with
Prada.
The
Axiom
Extravehicular
Mobility
Unit
(AxEMU
for
short) can
withstand
the
punishing
conditions
of
the
lunar
South
Pole
—
with
a
touch
of
sophistication
that
space
apparel
has
been
lacking,
evidently.
Prada
and
Axiom
collaborated
on
the
outer
layer
of
the
suit,
with
the
fashion
house
lending
expertise
on
“high-performance
materials,
features,
and
sewing
techniques.”
In
addition
to
protecting
the
wearer
from
the
icy
cold
vacuum
of
space,
the
suit
also
aims
to
“visually
inspire
future
space
exploration.”
The
suit
includes
a
helmet
and
visor
equipped
with
lights,
an
HD
camera,
and
4G/LTE
communication.
As
you’d
expect
from
haute
couture,
the
gloves
are
custom
made,
the
boots
are
designed
for
lunar
terrain,
and
according
to
the
press
release
it
accommodates
a
wide
range
of
crewmembers
with
“anthropomorphic
sizing,”
so
I
guess
a
cat
could
wear
it,
too.
How
chic!
Unfortunately
it’ll
be
a
while
before
we
can
see
the
suit
on
the
red
carpet,
er,
planet.
The
AxEMU
will
be
worn
by
NASA
astronauts
on
the
Artemis
III
mission
to
the
moon,
scheduled
for
“no
earlier”
than
September
2026.
Original author: Allison Johnson
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